MHTri:Rememberance
by LOLzX3
Summary: If the person who cared for u all his life died because of you, what will you do?
1. Prologue 1

"_Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them." –George Eliot_

A lone figure walked across the marshy ground. _Squish, squash_. His upper lip curled in distaste. Personally, he did not like this humid, tropical temperature; he preferred drier areas like the Sandy Plains.

_Meow, meow_. His gaze dropped to see a group of Felynes walking towards him. His hand instinctively went up to the green hilt of his long sword, the Shadow Binder. As expected, the Felynes jumped at him, attempting to pickpocket him. With a few quick slashes, the cats fell.

_I hate those cats, actually, more than this place, this freaking Flooded Forest_, he thought. He kept marching toward what the Guild designated as Area 4, where a Gobul was apparently resting after trashing a fisherman's boat. On that thought, he added another peeve to his list of disliked: Fishermen.

_Those spineless retards,_ he started, _they can't even hold their ground against a Gobul._ _ They shouldn't be fishing if they don't know how to fight. _As he walked toward where he thought the Gobul was, he heard footsteps. Light ones.

_Hmm?_ He paused. The footsteps were too light to be a Gobul's, and he could hear quick breathing… _Off!_

A young girl, no older than 14, ran straight into the armored hunter. She bounced off his sturdy frame and sat down hard on the damp floor. She looked up and her eyes widened. The man couldn't help but notice that her eyes sparkled in the cloudy afternoon sun.

"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry-I didn't know, uh, I was running form-I mean from- a big creepy fish thing and-"She began.

He stared at her bumbling form. She had her hair cut short, with one side longer than the other, which slightly covered her right eye. He extended a hand. "Get up."

She took his hand and stood up.

"Ok, let's start over. Who are you and why are you here?"

"Uh, I was looking for bitterbugs to make some herbal medicine…my mom is sickly and uh we don't have enough money to hire a hunter- and a Gobul attacked me- you're the hunter form Moga Village right? I saw you around sometimes- Paine, right?"

"Yeah, alright, go back to the Guild's base camp and get some rest. I'll take you back to the village when I'm done hunting."

"No! "She exclaimed. The hunter cocked an eyebrow.

"I didn't find those bitterbugs yet…" she trailed off.

"Fine," The hunter said. _Dam, freaking girl. You're gonna be a nuisance._

He resumed his march toward the Gobul.

"Thanks?" the girl wondered. Paine grunted. He began jogging. The girl sighed but followed. He grasped his long sword hilt again and…

…He burst onto the resting Gobul. _Good thing he's on land, _he thought. He hated swimming too. He slashed and then stabbed the Gobul in the eye. It roared in pain. It inflated and spiked shot up from its back. Wasting no time, the hunter began his Spirit Combo, gouging deep wounds in the Gobul. He completed his combo and hit a Roundslash. The Gobul reared back and fell over.

"Wow!" the girl exclaimed. Paine ignored the congratulations and redrew his weapon. He kept cutting at the Gobul as it righted itself. Sparks flew from his blade as he bounced off the sharp tail spikes. Soon, the hunter went into a repetition. _Slash, spirit, dodge. Slash spirit, dodge. Slash, spirit, Roundslash._ The barrage was too much for the Gobul, it began to retreat. Paine threw a sonic bomb at the fleeing mass. _Scree! _The Gobul, flinched, giving Paine enough time to reinitiate his assault. The Gobul's tail whipped around and caught him in the middle of his Spirit Combo. The hunter's Bone armor cracked a little but he ignored it, as he did another Spirit Roundslash. The Gobul flipped over from the impact and died.

"Woah…" the girl was amazed. Paine looked at her. She was watching him with adoration.

"C'mon, let's go. Hurry up and get those bugs."


	2. Prologue 2

The hunter flopped down on his bed, his Bone armor in a pile next to him. _Sigh_~~~

He looked around his room. He needed to clean it up: three swords were carelessly tossed around; nearby, a set of worn Chainmail was littered across the floor. Numerous herbs and berries were tossed carelessly in a box and various monster parts and bones filled the room; nearly none of the actual floor was visible.

_I shouldn't have kicked that Felyne butler out,_ he regretted.

He lay there for hours, drinking in the sight of the bright moon. _Knock,knock. _There were thumps on the wood panel outside his hut. He got up and walked outside.

"What the F- do you want?" he shouted.

"Oh! Uh, I'm sorry, but…can I come inside?" It was that girl again. Paine regarded her for a minute.

"Whatever," he grunted. She walked inside his hut and sat down near the fireplace.

"So, what is up?" Paine ventured.

She looked at him with a bemused look. "What is up? Ah, well my mom died…"

Paine suddenly noticed the redness of her dark eyes.

"And, well my father doesn't like me much- so I thought…you…" the last word was whispered.

_Huh- what the hell is that suppose to mean?_

"Well, I also don't have any close friends-everyone I know is too old or young-"she began to ramble about her life. Typical 14-year old.

_Oh course, this is a small village after all, I'm not surprised there are no-_ Then he realized something. This girl, he still didn't ask for her name, this girl was best suited to carry on hunting for this village, in case he died. There were no other people at the appropriate age... But…

_She seems too soft, and she's not strong enough either. _The girl was fit, but… _she must be neglected at home, I am sure, from what she has told me, she was only able to stay due to her now deceased mother. No matter, a bowgun can solve that problem._

Her ramblings ceased; she was asleep. _She must be exhausted._

He tossed around in his bed and began to snore, but got up. He looked at her sleeping form on the mat, covered by bones and Qurupeco feathers. _I'm getting soft…_ He picked up his blanket and draped it around her.

"You better be a great hunter," he said aloud to no one. "With all the work and teaching I'm going to put into you, you are going to have to be a legendary hunter."

As if in response, the wind blew a warm calming breeze. Paine smiled for the first time in too long. Seems like the heavens pulled some strings today.


	3. Chapter 1

A lone figure walked across the marshy ground. _Squish, squash. _Her lips curled into a sad smile. Personally, she loved the humid, tropical temperature; she cherished the moistness on her skin. But, it brought back memories that she didn't like to dwell on.

_Meow, meow. _Her gaze dropped to a group of Felynes walking towards her. She brightened. She loved cats, and she always brought some felvines, Felyne's favorite treat, with her on quests. She reached into her pocket and pulled some out. The Felynes instantly brightened, and walked toward her with renewed vigor. She extended her arm, and allowed the Felynes to nibble on the herb-like vegetable. Giggling, she brushed off the crumbs of the eaten felvines and continued on her trek.

She basically walked straight into the Gobul. Her hand shot up and she rolled, unstrapping her bowgun and bringing it up. The Gobul roared and charged. The gunner easily dodged out of the way and loaded some shots into her Tropeco Stock/Poison Stinger bowgun. Shots spat out and exploded in purple smoke on the Gobul's back. The fish-monster began coughing and secreting purple bubbles. She switched ammos. The Gobul charged.

Then the gigantic monster let out a pitiful squeal as bursts of fire erupted on its face. They were Fire shots. Spikes shot up around its back. _Heeeeee~~~_ it exhaled.

The gunner smiled and loaded another shot. It pricked the Gobul's skin as it lodged in. Then it exploded.

_Umph!_ The monster's skin was ripped apart by the Crag shot, and two of his spikes broke in half. He tried to crawl away. As he was doing so, eight more pricks followed, which was in turn followed by eight horrible painful, painful explosions. It's tail whipped around and managed to catch the confident gunner on her arm. Her velvety sleeve ripped a little and the Gobul's paralysis spikes took their effect.

"Uhhhhh…" she dropped to the floor, sparking coursing through her body. The Gobul, sensing weakness, charged. He knocked the hunter across the wet marsh and began burrowing underground as she hit the lily pads near the water.

The gunner got up and shook her head. A bitter smile appeared on her lips.

"Guess I'm still not as good as master was." She said aloud. She sprinted for her fallen weapon, which was laying where the Gobul and paralyzed her. She dove and grabbed it as the Gobul flew over her head, intent on killing this hunter torturing him. She swung up her gun, already loaded and fired shot after shot as the Gobul, spun around. This time, sparks coursed up the Gobul's body. It screeched in pain as it struggled to move. The gunner calmly walked over and set up a barrel. Then she strode away. The Gobul was confused but it was in too much pain to think clearly. As soon as it could move, it swung around towards the water-**BOOOOM!**

The monster's tail had caught on the barrel, which was full of gunpowder, efficiently setting it off and killing the fish. The gunner walked back toward the Gobul, and sat down.

She began to stitch together her Gigginox sleeve with a needle from her pack.

"See that Paine? I still remember you…" she spoke quietly as she gazed toward the Gobul.


	4. Chapter 2

"WOAH!" a young voice exclaimed. The Gigginox gunner spun around.

"Oh, sorry to disturb you, but that was soooo cooool!" a man, or maybe boy, in Rathian armor appeared form the dense trees. The Gigginox gunner watched him warily.

"I mean, did you see- well of course you saw, you did it, but you just like walked off and made the Gobul kill itself! WOW!" The Rathian armored hunter bubbled with enthusiasm.

Enthusiasm that the gunner didn't share. She got up, slung her bowgun over her shoulder, and walked toward where the base camp was situated.

"Hey… where are you going?" he exclaimed. "Yo!"

"I'm going to report the kill," the girl said coldly. The other hunter cocked his head sideways, as if he was confused.

"Well, okay then." He followed.

"What are you doing?" the gunner asked brusquely.

"Um, I'm following you back to camp. I wanna know how you know how to-"

"Well don't"

The Rathian hunter looked hurt. Well, as hurt as you can look behind a full face helm.

"But… can you show me-" he began.

"NO." she started to walk faster.

"C'mon! Why you so cold? Can I, um, ask your name? At least…"

Sensing no harm to that the gunner snapped, "Skye."

2 years ago

"Skye," said the eager youth. Paine nodded at the name.

"Pretty wimpy name," he said. The girl looked hurt.

"Hurry up, Skye, grab a weapon and let's go at that Great Jaggi," he barked,

"Woah, what? You never told me we were going hunting! I just woke up and you're like _well what's your name? _I never agreed to go hunt some Great Jaggi!" She moaned.

"Well, if you are going to live here then you might as well help me," Paine retorted.

"Live here? I never asked if I could live-"

"Then where would you go?" Paine asked. Skye shut up. She looked like she was backed into a corner.

"Look, after me, you are probably best suited to go hunting. You're still young so you can learn this-," he searched for the word,"-craft. You said it yourself; everyone else is too young or already have a job. If anything happens to me, this village would be in deep s-."

"Well, then don't die," Skye attempted.

"Hah, easier said than done, now get you lazy a—to that box and grab a weapon."

She silently obliged. Her gaze swept over the assortment of weapons.

"Hey, what's this?" she asked. She struggled to heft a large crystal sword.

"Vulcanis P," he said, "too heavy, try again."

"This?" she lifted a long sword and immediately dropped it. "Ow!"

"Dancing Hellfire," Paine stated, " you'll burn yourself, try again." He walked over and stamped out the mini-fire the sword was creating.

"This!" she said confidently. She gently swung it and went flying with it.

"Assault Axe," he sighed, "too complicated and heavy. Jeez, maybe you aren't fit to be a hunter."

She picked up a gun-like mechanism. "What's this?" she seemed determined to find a weapon.

"Part of a bowgun, it's called the Jaggid Fire, that's the barrel."

Skye experimentally attached some pieces together. "There!"

Paine looked at the work with surprise, the pieces were attached perfectly. He had predicted that she would eventually pick up a bowgun, due to her lack of muscle, but he didn't expect that she would be…decent, or at least with the pre-work.

"You made a light bowgun," he said as you detached the stock. "Here this is better."

She looked transfixed by the new stock. "Wow…"

"I like it too," Paine said as he strapped on his Shadow Binder.

Skye stroked the Qurupeco feathers of the Tropeco stock.


	5. Chapter 3

That annoying Rathian guy wouldn't quit. He doggedly followed her, despite rebuttals and straight-out rejections.

"C'mon! Hunters need to stick together. You know my name is Terra! That's like the opposite of sky!" he went on and on. " I think that it is not a coincidence."

Skye remembered a special exercise her master used to drill her in. _Used to_ she thought grimly.

He said that if you concentrate on t=something else, you won't notice the thing bothering you the most. They had mainly used this practice to forget about painful wounds and bruises.

Now Skye used this art to repel the stupid Rathian armored hunter's questions. She stared at the cloudy sky, the bright-

"Hey! Are you daydreaming! Watch where you walk!" Terra's voice pierced her thoughts. She couldn't' take it.

"AGH! You're so annoying!" she yelled. He wasn't dissuaded. He kept going on and on…

_Dam-_Then another being pierced her thoughts. This one was a bit more serious however. Live Rathians could kill after all. **ROOOAAARRR! **

She clutched her ears instinctively, knowing that it would do little to cancel out the Rathian's battle cry.

"GREAT!" Terra exclaimed, "Now's my chance to convince you to listen to me!" He rushed the Rathian and took out- _A Shadow Binder P? _Skye was startled from seeing a weapon so much like her master's old signature one.

Terra began to cut and dodge. With no other choice, Skye loaded some Normal Lv2 shots as her mind drifted back.

1.5 years ago

"Hurry up Skye!" Paine whispered, "This Gigginox isn't gonna wait for you!"

Skye quickly mixed together her gunpowder and gently poured some into a large barrel near the sleeping Gigginox. Then she detonated it. A squeal of happiness erupted from her mouth when she saw the Gigginox flop over dead. _I don't have to wear that Leather Armor anymore_ she silently rejoiced. She carved some pieces she needed to finish her Gigginoc Gunner set and hugged Paine.

He seemed flustered as she let go. "Uh, good job," he stammered. She beamed at him.

"Well, let's not keep that guildsman waiting," he said as he began dragging the dead carcass of the white wyvern to base camp. Skye helped but she knew that her own strength wasn't exactly contributing much.

"Why don't we just ask the Guild to pick it up?" she complained, just to start a conversation.

"I don't like depending on people."

_Hmmmmm,_ she sighed. Now all she needed-

"Hey would you come with me to Moga Forest when we get back?" She asked.

"Huh? Why?" Paine grunted.

"I wanna kill a Royal Ludroth."

"What for?" Paine wondered.

"I'm going to try to get Constitution Decorations."

"Oh, you really got to just get a set and forget about the special properties," Paine moaned, " how do you stand having to do all that math and mining just for one or two unnecessary skills?"

"But, don't you find it fascinating? The monsters in our world are so special!" She exclaimed, "They have such special properties, like how the Gigginox Gunner set could improve your Status-"

"Ok!" Paine yelled. "I prefer just getting a set and sticking with it Ms. Scientist," he teased.

They boarded the Guild Boat, dragging the dead corpse of the Gigginox with them.

"Wake me up when we get there," Skye yawned.

"See? All that thinking overloaded your brains."


	6. Chapter 4

1.5 years ago

Paine didn't think that they would encounter a Rathian during this hunt. The Guildsman on the boat that picked them up even told them that the environment was stable. The only sightings were of a Royal Ludroth and a single Great Jaggi, according to the captain.

_Wrong_, Paine thought. The Rathian spat out a fireball at him. He rolled to the side. Bits of gravel and rock flew up accompanied by the intense heat. _I don't like this cliff very much,_ he thought.

Paine had been chipping away at a Royal Ludroth with his apprentice, Skye, when the Rathian had snuck up as quietly as a dragon weighing a few tons could. In the midst of the battle, and all the roaring Ludroth, the beating wings were pretty quiet. Until she got close.

**ROOARRR!** It jumped on Paine, batting at him and swiftly biting. However, a few Crag shots in the face forced the Rathian to turn its attention elsewhere. And in that span of time it was distracted, it was pierced by a paralyzing long sword. Roaring again in pain, it did a backflip, but the hunter managed to dodge. The relentless assault of bullets got the Rathian to look for easier prey, and take off.

"Let's follow it," Paine said, "A wounded Rathian shouldn't be left alive. Too much of a prize."

So the pair finished off the Royal Ludroth and jogged and climbed to the Rathian's nest, on top of a large cliff.

_Dam, this is taking longer than I imagined._ Paine ducked and cut off the Rathian's toe. It bellowed and looked at him with a hurt look. Then it rammed into him. It's leg dragged him for a horrifying 10 meters, then it halted. Paine rolled around and noticed that he was dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. Skye, sensing his danger, attempted to throw a flash bomb to distract the Rathian. _BING!_ It went of stunning the Rathian.

However, the Rathian, battered, bruised, and scared, panicked. It swept its tail in a circle around it, knocking Paine to the ground again. The hunter skidded back near the cliff face, this time, he could barely get up, stunned by the pain.

"Paine!" Skye yelled. She loaded some paralysis shots to stop the monster from knocking her master off the cliff. She fired as she tried to close the gap between her and her stunned master. The Rathian could see a blurry image of an armored shape in front of it. It wanted it to be gone! This hideous prey that bite back! It inhaled deeply-

"NO!"

-and spat its fireball. The armored figure was knocked from the explosion 10 feet in the air, then began plummeting, his body on fire.

"NOOOOOOO!"

Then the Rathian fell as well, blood streaming from its numerous wounds, a final Para Shot that did just enough to kill her, impacting her face.


	7. Chapter 5

_I don't think this was a good idea._

Skye plummeted. The wind rushed past her, and her vision got blurry. There was no sensation like this she thought, it was exhilarating, it was…

…painful. She bounced off and rolled to her feet as soon as she hit the ground. But the impact still coursed through her body and her left foot didn't feel right. She looked up.

She had jumped about 10-20 meters down from the cliff where the dead Rathian now lay. She didn't have to jump. But the sight of her master falling with his body flickering with fire, compelled her to jump and get to him as fast as possible.

Now she crawled to his still form. She let out a whimper when she checked his pulse. Gone.

1.5 years later

The Rathian fell pretty fast. Obviously, this Rathian armored guy, Terra, did make his armor himself. As Terra removed some scales of the Rathian, he shouted, "I'm not bad, eh?"

Skye shook her head. This guy was infuriating even as he fought! _Freaking dancing around, I could almost never get a shot in, in fear of hitting him. _

"You're too hyper," she mumbled.

To her dismay, Terra shrugged it off and followed her all the way back to base.

He even had the audacity to get on the Guild balloon and announce himself as her partner to the confused pilot.

"But, I was told there was only going to be one hunter," he protested.

However, his protests ceased when Terra passed him a bag of jingly coins.

A Balloon Ride Later

Skye marched directly to the Guild Girl when the balloon settled. She gave her proof of the conquered Gobul, his lantern, and informed her of the elimination of a stray Rathian.

The girl pouted. "You know, you should be careful about taking out untargeted monsters."

"Sure," Skye grunted, uneager to talk.

"I heard that some tribesmen killed a hunter when the hunter killed their sacred idol, a particularly large Quropeco."

That caught the huntress's attention. "Oh really now…"

"I'll be more cautious," Skye mused, after a brief silence. "Thanks."

"No, thank you for completing the guild quest, have a nice day!" That Guild Girl always managed to end off with "have a nice day!"

"Hey, wait up!" The Rathian-guy briskly walked to Skye. "Where are you going?" he inquired.

"Sleep," Skye replied.

"Well, you should eat something first, I'll buy you something." And with that, he took her wrist and dragged her, protesting, to the inn.

"What would you like?" he asked when they got there.

Skye rubbed her wrist, "Nothing."

"Um, how about one dish of fish and one Aptonoth steak. Oh and a jug of beer and milk."

He looked over at her. "You do like milk right?"

She nodded, and then began rummaging for some zenny.

"No! No, meal's on me," he brightly said as he brandished extremely fat bag of money.

Skye felt a bit embarrassed at the rich hunter. She could barely afford her room rental.

"I only take on big monsters," Terra proudly stated as he put his pouch back in his belt.

Skye felt unfairness. So did she, but her bowgun required a great deal of money to maintain. Buying ammo, bombs, and various herbs every time before a quest was a constant expense. Plus, she was still paying money loaners from when she was buying her Gigginox armor.

"But, if there's one monster I really want to take on is Alatreon," he proclaimed as the waitress brought their drinks.

Skye looked up. _Really? _"Isn't Alatreon just a children's fable?" she tested. She remembered a rhyme about Alatreon when she was younger.

_The Darkness descends from the fiery heavens_

_He glitters like the stars above_

_But he swallows our love_

_Our dreams, our hopes, everything will be gone_

_When the Alatreon is done_

But it was some mentally unstable old wyvernian who told her that soooo…

Terra growled angrily. "No! It's just that the people who saw him =…" his voice broke uncharacteristically," …they're dead."

"So how are you sure it is real?" she challenged.

"I'm sure my dad didn't die to some child's imagination." Terra got increasingly angrier.

Skye decided to shut up. After all, he was paying for her meal.

They ate in silence.

"Well, see you tomorrow." Terra shrugged as he got up.

"Hunh?" Skye looked up.

"Let's hunt together tomorrow; I'll wait for you at the workshop." With that, he took off.

"Wai-" but he was gone. Skye finished her milk. But she almost spit it out as she realized something about her newfound partner.

"Shit! He left me the bill!"


	8. Chapter 6

As usual, Skye was grumpy when she met the Rathian-armored hunter in the workshop.

"Hey!" he enthusiastically greeted. "You know, I was actually kinda doubting that you would come."

"I'm surprised too," Skye replied as she eyed a beautiful Switch Axe.

"What's that?" she asked the Blacksmith.

The blacksmith replied with a grin. He was missing teeth. "Ye' see dat der is a mem'er o' de Crys'al fam'ly."

Skye nodded, barely understanding.

"I lik-ke call it a Ruff Ed'e."

"Mmhmm."

"So!" interjected Terra. "Let's go hunt a monster and call it a day, eh?"

Skye nodded. _Best not to waste time fantasizing about pretty weapons. _She was pretty proud of her own armor and weapon. The armor especially: it took seven Gigginoxes to make, due to the fact she kept on blowing up the underbelly to unusable messes.

"Ok, we're gonna hunt a…" Terra trailed off. He pondered for a while, staring at the monster list.

"I dunno," he gave up. Skye took the board and skimmed over…

_Great Jaggi…Gathering Quest…Mining…Gathering…Qurupeco-_ Then she remembered the guild lady's news on a tribe of Qurupeco-admirers. _Best to skip that then…Farm Aid? Na, how about…Barroth._

"Barroth," she announced.

Terra nodded. "Sure, I would like to fight him."

Skye filled out the request contract and they boarded on the Guild airship after she bought some ammo. The gunner watched her coins pile up on the trader's hands. _I need to start making my own ammo._

The duo found the Barroth rolling around in the mud on Area 3. It seemed so peaceful and self-assure that Skye regretted breaking its tranquility. **ROOOAAARRR!** Skye winced at the loud war bellow. Terra, who had Earplugs, ignored it and charged, his Shado- _Wait, he changed weapons. _Skye realized.

Terra's new sword was thicker, a greatsword? It seemed to be made out of the same material as the Switch Axe she saw at the forge.

The crystal weapon ripped into the Barroth's arm. _I don't think Terra hunts Barroths as much as he does to Rathians. _Skye thought as her fellow hunter tugged at his stuck sword. The Barroth didn't even hesitate. It lowered his head.

And charged. Skye watched with some amusement as the indignant hunter went flying. _His armor's strong enough that the attack probably only gave him a bruise. _

She fired Para shots at the lumbering monstrosity. The wyvern was about to reach the stunned Terra when he stopped dead in his tracks, shocks rippling through his body.

Skye switched to Sleep shots and carefully aimed each shot, hitting places near its head. Soon, it fell to sleep.

Terra growled and drew his sword on the sleeping form.

"No! I was going to sleep bomb-"Skye started, but the greatsword flashed and hit the Barroth straight on the head, bouncing off.

It got up and **ROOOAARRR! **It entered rage mode. Skye sighed. She loaded Crag shots. Then it became a repetition of shoot, dodge, shoot, dodge, reload, shoot…

Skye frowned a little. These explosions were fun but… _Maybe I should try a new weapon; I haven't ever tried a melee weapon before. _However, she changed her mind about picking a melee weapon next time as Terra was splattered with mud.

"EUUAGH!" he spitted. Skye smiled a little.

The Barroth finally fell after a chase through the Sandy Plains. Sighing, Terra began removing some expensive, undamaged pieces from the dead Brute Wyvern. Skye nibbled on a Ration.

"Ok," sighed Terra, "Let's go report-"But he didn't get to finish.

A tomahawk smacked his greatsword off his back. A split second later, a knife lodged itself in the confused hunter's armor, finding a chink. Sparks shot up Terra's body and he fell, face first. Skye didn't even have time to react. She felt a steel blade on her throat.

"Hunter, come with us. You have slain a protector of the Sands."

The blade was fashioned out of Qurupeco parts, it wasn't wyvernian-made.

It was hand-made by a tribesman.


	9. Chapter 7

Skye sighed. For once, Terra did not reply. He was paralyzed.

The Qurupeco tribal natives had snuck up on the two hunters, who were caught up in the fight against the Barroth.

Apparently, the hunters had just killed a protector of the Qurupeco, and were going to face prosecution by the loose band of natives. _I guess it didn't help that their 'sacred' idol was killed earlier by hunters…_

Terra moaned. He was back in control of his body.

Terra let out a string of cusses and swearing that did not faze their captors.

"What the f-. We didn't kill a Qurupe-"

"No, but you killed its protector, Barroth and you wear the corpse of Rathian, another guardian," the tribalman spat.

"YOU KNOW WHAT? F- YOU! HYPOCRITE! YOU HAVE QURUPECO-"Terra raged.

"Yes, but I gathered fallen Qurupeco feathers and harvested from aged, naturally dead Qurupecos, to honor their life."

The natives seemed disgusted by Terra's behavior. They tightened his bonds further.

But Terra was like a Rathian, fiery anger broiled in him at being unfairly restrained. He lashed out and kicked a native.

They were on him in an instant.

Skye watched in horror as the unbalanced brawl before her eyes. Her captor pulled her bonds a bit tighter and mumbled something about forgiveness, his eyes downcast.

The other four natives did not utter a word as they dragged the hunter back on his feet. Terra was bruised and bloody-

Skye averted her eyes. She didn't want to see more.

"Welcome back warriors," an aged voice called out. A hunch-backed man walked with two more native youths trailing him. The old man began rummaging in his pocket and the Qurupeco tribesmen described Terra and Skye's violation of 'natural law.'

"They killed a proud wyvern without even a second glance!" one native angrily spat.

"I bet that wyvern deserved to die, it probably killed-"Again Terra was interrupted. A fist lashed out from the old man.

The old man must have been strong for Terra grunted in pain and gasped for breath.

"You sick bastard. A Barroth is a herbivore, it only fights when threatened."

The elder's eyes were ablaze with sadness and rage. "That Barroth saved the lives of this tribe."

When we reached the camp, Terra was dragged in a different direction than Skye. She was led to the largest tent, her eyes still averted from Terra's bloodied form.

Despite the danger and uncertainty they were in, Terra called after Skye.

"Hey! Nub worries," he managed. "I'm bure duh Guild wu' sort dings out."

Those were the last words Skye heard from Terra.


	10. Chapter 8

"This cannot go on any longer."

A motley of hunters sat at an oval table with numerous small craters and deep gouges.

"The natives have already captured ten hunters. Three have been sent back, mutilated. One of them had slain a Qurupeco and he was scalped and his limbs chopped off!"

The speaker, a Bnahabra hunter near the doorway paused. He was unseated unlike the other twelve hunters around the U-shaped table.

"Seven hunters are missing, my apprentice among them," he strained, "I beseech you! As the Guild Council, do NOT let these savages run rampart killing and kidnapping our fellow hunters!"

A silence settled.

"Boy," a voice rumbled, "If you wanted to… did you talk to the Guildmaster yet?"

"Yes, and I was given his blessing," the Bnahabra man spoke, amused at being called boy; his hair was graying.

"Then… all in favor?"

Nearly all of the Council members stood up. The Bnahabra man sighed in relief.

"Then go boy," the same Council member spoke. Now that he stood up, his armor, or what was left of it, was visible.

He had a beaten weathered face with plenty of scars. That was expected of a Council member, for they, along with the Guildmaster, were the ones who approved quests; therefore, they had to have experience hunting the most dangerous monsters.

But his armor was truly something…different. He had Damascus Armor, the Bladesmaster variant. It had lost its shine and was ripped at the left sleeve, revealing that the old man had actually lost his left arm. However, his chestpiece…

It was black and had light-greenish trims. But what caught the Bnahabra man's attention was…

The chestpiece seemed to sap light, but it was probably just a trick of the eye.

"Thankyo-," he calmed down a little.

"Thank you," he tried again.

"Right, Imma send a couple of veterans with you, mmkay?"

"Thank you." And with that, the Bnahabra armored man left.

"Hey! You're our captain right?" A Rathalos/Loc Lac armored hunter greeted him.

"Woah! You're head's all white!" he mused guilelessly.

The Bnahabra man's lips curved in a smile.

"Yeah, must be a side effect from staying in the snow all day long without a warm helmet," he pondered, "my name's Echo."

"I'm Joshua," the youth responded.

"So, how many-?" started Echo.

"Nine, we are all wearing some variant of Rathalos armor, but me and a few others didn't have the full set so we grabbed Loc Lac for Heat Cancel."

"Good," Echo praised. _These seem to be veterans, at least at the preparation stage._

He scanned the crowd. Again, he was pleased. There was a wide range of weapons, excluding ranged weapons, but those were rare to find anyway.

"So… when are we going?"

"As soon as I can get this crowd's attention." Echo raised a hunting horn to his lips.

The loud braying of the horn grabbed the assembled hunter's attention.

Echo pointed at the Guild airship. "Let's go."

A ripple of enthusiasm went through the crowd of warriors. They began boarding.

"All right, let's not get left behind," Joshua stated.

The two fell in line with the rest of the hunters.

A weathered man watched this departure. He stood next to the trading post lady.

"The captain of the guard isn't gonna be happy you didn't go to him about this," she said, turning around to look at her fellow observer.

His chest piece, to the lady, seemed to sap the light out of the bright desert sun. It sent shivers down her spine.

"No, but I don't care. That pup wouldn't mess with half of us In the council."

"Aye, Akal, but you'll need everybody on your side if you plan on actually doing this."

"Yea, the Qurupeco natives probably would retaliate…I'll talk to him later."

"Aye, you better. After all you're talking about the genocide of a people," the lady chuckled.


	11. Chapter 9

Skye was overjoyed at the Bnahabra man's news.

She distinctly heard him state that all captives must be released or the Hunter's Guild would punish the tribes.

She hoped that the tribes would acknowledge the warning and set her and Terra and well, all the other captives free.

However, her captor's grim face told her that it wouldn't be that easy.

"I dunno if brothers agree."

"Well, please send them our request."

"Okay." The old man gestured for Skye to come.

"No, the girl stays here."

The old man opened his mouth, but this time, Skye interrupted him.

"I still need to grab my bowgun and gunner pouch."

The Bnahabra man looked skeptical.

A few awkward minutes passed.

"Fine."

Skye walked with the old man, she was breathing hard. _A taste of freedom._

"No good. Elders be mad. No agree." Her companion mumbled.

_Oh, I still don't know his name_ Skye remembered, half-listening.

"What's your name?" she prompted.

Her companion looked up, surprised by the sudden question. Then his lips curved into a sad smile.

"Slit Hawk."

He lifted his head and showed scars on his neck.

"Pain when talk."

And with that, they walked in silence, preparing to tell the elders of the hunter's news.


End file.
